Aratana Agrees to Buy Vet Therapeutics

San Diego-based Vet Therapeutics Inc. has been acquired by Kansas City, Kan.-based Aratana Therapeutics Inc. in a deal worth more than $30 million.

Equity holders for the privately held Vet Therapeutics will receive $30 million in cash, 625,000 shares of Aratana stock and a $3 million promissory note in the deal, which Aratana said would close on or before Oct. 17. Aratana could also pay up to $5 million more based on regulatory and manufacturing milestones, it said in a filing.

Shares for Aratana (Nasdaq: PETX), which had a $34.2 million initial public offering in June, shot up 8 percent following the announcement, closing day trading at $25.45 per share. The company has a market capitalization of $556.3 million.

However, the company did not disclose the price of the stock that it’s giving to Vet Therapeutics equity holders.

Vet Therapeutics develops a drug that treats canine T-cell lymphoma — a common blood cancer among dogs — that’s received a conditional license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.